I am creating an art installation called Tree of Life for the burn this year. It is about 7 ft tall, 3x3ft wide, and is a sculpture of a tree-like pregnant woman. Her belly is a glass jar that contains the placenta from the recent birth of my son. There will be pieces of paper with words and images papier-mache'd on the piece, as well as some pens tied to her for other people to leave their thoughts on the subject of birth. Lit with LEDs at night, solar powered.It should be super easy to set up: check in at the ARTery, they show you where you put it, and then you rebar it to the ground real quick like. It is mostly papier-mache, so it's not heavy. The not-so-fun part is pulling it out at the end of the event and bringing it home.

It is already registered and all that, mostly complete, but I am not going to the playa this year. I just recently had a baby, plus, I have no ticket. I was supposedly collaborating on the piece with the father of my child, but he hasn't worked on it, and now is no longer providing transport as we are not really on speaking terms.I am located in Mt. Shasta, but could possibly have the piece transported to San Francisco (or maybe Reno... but that's a little less likely).

So.. in order for the piece to go, I really need some help.

What I can offer you: unfortunately not much... very limited budget.-Last year I received 2 early passes to set up the installation I brought, so hopefully I will at least be getting one this year. Burning Man hasn't contacted me about this yet, but I think chances are good. If you're looking for an early pass and have some extra space, this could work out great for you.-I will try and get your name attached to the piece on the Burning Man website and Burning Man literature that is handed out at the gate if that interests you, but I can't guarantee they'll change it. I can get your name attached to it for decompression in SF, because the piece is supposed to go there as well.-gas money for transport-my eternal gratitude, love, and praise!

Honestly, this doesn't seem like a simple thing at all for someone else to take on. Transport and setup is one thing, assuming it's a competent structure, but you're asking someone to babysit what might be an easily vandalized piece all week and then truck it somewhere else intact. Might want to cut your losses now rather than worry about it for the next month.

First of all, let me say that if I had the resources, I would do this for someone else, no doubt.Second, driving in 2 pieces of rebar isn't very labor intensive. I spent days setting up my art last year.Third, I'm not really expecting this post to work. I know it's a lot to ask. But one has to ask; one has to at least TRY.

And the most important thing I have to say:

Why bother to even post if you don't want to help? Why make fun of me? Why not just move on to the next post? I put my all into this project, every spare moment of time I've had for months has gone into it, and at the last minute I get screwed over by my so-called lover. Believe me, if I had the money, I would pay someone hundreds or even thousands to help me. But I can't. I can barely afford to feed myself. Why pick on someone who's obviously desperate? Does it make you feel superior?

An Early Entry pass is used WITH a ticket to get in before the gate officially opens and the event starts. They are very closely tied to specific camps or projects or volunteer departments and rather hard to get.

Perhaps there are other things you'd like to do while you're in the states. There's a barbeque cook off in Reno Labor Day weekend.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

Hi, seems straight forward enough. Rebar? Not a problem, frack, we must hammer in 50 candycanes at camp and have a jack for pulling them out. I live fairly close and would consider helping. Emailed you.

I don't think so. Also, disgusting. It gets hot out there. What if, when installing or driving there, the glass breaks? Oh no! Placenta everywhere! We'll have to find another placenta so she'll never know we lost hers in the back of the van/ on the ground/ in a placenta snowball fight, etc... I sense a plot twist ala 80s buddy movie brewing.

That's a whole lot of responsibility the person volunteering to help would assume. Especially never seeing the project and how stable, playa safe, MOOP resistant, etc., it would be beforehand, and certainly without getting a release of responsibility should the piece be damaged in transport, installation or on the playa from the artist.

JKhttp://www.mudskippercafe.comWhen I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle.Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.

Thank you cowgirl for getting directly to the reaction I have with this piece.I can understand eating the damn thing, freezing it or whatever, it's taken a lot of resources to produce and there's certainly energy and nutrients and yeah! it's breast-feeding time. However, I think that is a private choice, and best done in private.If you're willing to put your baby's placenta on display for 50,000 you might want to grow a thicker skin, because "Eeeeew!" is likely to be the dominant reaction.And, no, that guy who preserves animal and human corpses in lucite and gets into fancy museums is not on my list of "must-see"exhibits, either.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

Hmmm....I can't imagine that she wouldn't have preserved it in formaldehyde or dehydrated and cast it in clear-cast or something before using it in her art. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a public health hazard and as such not even permitted on the playa or anywhere else for that matter?

Last edited by Elderberry on Sun Aug 07, 2011 11:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

JKhttp://www.mudskippercafe.comWhen I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle.Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.

LOL not to mention you don't know this person. Maybe there's a good reason her boyfriend isn't speaking to her. How would she react if something dreadful accidentally happened to her art going to, from or on the playa? Would you be blamed? Held responsible? Find yourself at the end of an ugly lawsuit for damages?

Galaxo Magic wrote:Er, I guess I should have read the description more closely. I was just thinking it was a sculpture. Not sure I have the HazMat rating to be transporting placenta..............

JKhttp://www.mudskippercafe.comWhen I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle.Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.

jkisha wrote:LOL not to mention you don't know this person. Maybe there's a good reason her boyfriend isn't speaking to her. How would she react if something dreadful accidentally happened to her art going to, from or on the playa? Would you be blamed? Held responsible? Find yourself at the end of an ugly lawsuit for damages?

Galaxo Magic wrote:Er, I guess I should have read the description more closely. I was just thinking it was a sculpture. Not sure I have the HazMat rating to be transporting placenta..............

PlacentaBaby's Daddy doesn't speak to you You aren't even goingYou are needy and can barely feed yourself

Take a step back.

Oh, I am well aware of my faults. I'm also not afraid of anyone seeing them. Unfortunately, I am young and poor, and not a very good capitalist. A significant portion of the people my age who go to burning man just hang out at the big sound camps, eating ecstasy and drooling all over reach other all week, reenacting the same bizarre mating ritual you see at most clubs. At least I'm trying to do something meaningful. I doubt you're perfect either. Has anyone ever told you to judge not lest you be judged yourself?

Baby's daddy doesn't speak to me because he would rather go to parties than get a job to provide for his son. No big loss there, except that he's no longer taking my art to Burning Man, which isn't the end of the world either. But I'd rather not cancel - I'd rather try. Hence the post.What do you do when "self reliance" and "community" contradict? Should you never form a team to work on a project because someone MIGHT bail at the last minute?

And as far as being grossed out by the placenta goes, I think that's funny. Exactly the kind of reaction that I expect from a society that stems from repressed victorian roots. It is incredible how people try to glaze over the visceral and animalistic nature of our existence.

Last edited by themandaland on Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.

jkisha wrote:LOL not to mention you don't know this person. Maybe there's a good reason her boyfriend isn't speaking to her. How would she react if something dreadful accidentally happened to her art going to, from or on the playa? Would you be blamed? Held responsible? Find yourself at the end of an ugly lawsuit for damages?

Galaxo Magic wrote:Er, I guess I should have read the description more closely. I was just thinking it was a sculpture. Not sure I have the HazMat rating to be transporting placenta..............

NS

Jesus christ. Of course not. Not attached. I wanted to burn it, but flammable materials inside a glass jar wouldn't really work out that well.

I'd sign a release of liability or whatever is needed.I just didn't want all my effort to be for nothing.

I can't judge it based on anything except my own experience cleaning up after other people's abandoned art projects and other garbage -- such as that brown couch, upstage left. Do what you want, but it sounds like you're dumping a headache in a number of people's laps.

cowgirl wrote:Highly amusing that you accuse me of judgment when you just dismissed most of the community at Burning Man as drug addled techno ravers.

I am not grossed out by placenta. I am grossed out by medical waste being transported to sit in the hot sun in the desert in August.

You are young and poor. Big deal. Fend for yourself and work on your new life as a mother. I've no sympathies as Burning Man is not a necessity in life.

The phrase "medical waste" is silly when referring to human tissues. Medical waste would be the tons of non-reusable plastic crap that hospitals throw away every year. But you being grossed out by this is quite appropriate as the piece is a reflection on the effects of our industrial age on the cycles of life.

And I said "a significant portion of the people MY AGE." Pretty sure that is NOT most of the Burning Man community. The average age has got to be above 22.

And art is a necessity in life.

Anyway, I've solved my problem. Thanks for all the words of encouragement. Y'all are a bunch of sweethearts.

Your sculpture sounds interesting to me and I hope to run into it on the playa. We buried the twin's placenta's under a peach tree in the backyard. That's about as "hippee" as I can get Good luck to you and your baby boy. Being a parent is the most joyful thing I have done in my life.

When the only tool you got is a hammer, every problem looks like a hippie.

Mmmmmm I love the smell of Burning Man - Token

Getting overly dramatic about the ticket sale process is so 2012. - Maladroit